Dr. Ernie's July 2014 Newsletter Message

Eucharist

Some time past, i watched, "The Jewel in the Crown", a compelling movie about the British Raj in India. The title of the movie reminded me of the Eucharist, the jewel in the Crown of Christian Worshio. Often people think of the Eucharist as a religious ritual to be engaged in periodically in order to keep in the good graces of the Deity. Such an attitude is not only a complete misunderstanding of the Eucharist, it can also deprive one of its beauty and blessing.

I want to invite you to think of the Eucharist as a six faceted diamond of worship; a jewel of great value and beauty with facets of Reality, Covenant, Memorial, Involvement, Proclamation, and Anticipation.

Reality: Jesus Himself is the reality of the Eucharist: His true and real presence in the consecrated elements. He says quite positively, "This is my body...my blood." The writers of the three synoptic Gospels understood what He was saying, and so did not use Greek verbs meaning "to symbolize" or to "have the appearance of" or to "represent." They used the affirmative IS, confirming a mysterious reality Jesus is truly present. The light of His presence shines forth from the Eucharist.

Covenant: Jesus said, "This is my blood of the covenant" (Matt. 26:28). This is a covenant which takes us back to the Exodus Passover. God told His people to put the blood on the lintels and doorpost, and the angel of death would pass over. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), but we are reminded in 1 John 1:9 "the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin." The light of His eternal love shines forth from the Eucharist.

Memorial: Jesus tells us to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of Him. He is going to face indescribable pain and torture to utter desolation ("My God, why have youforsaken me?") for no other reason than that we might be brought back into rightful relationship with God, as those created to be in His image. The Eucharist is not just ritual, it is memorial of what Jesus did for us and how He did it. The light of His sacrifice shines forth from the Eucharist.

Involvement: St. Paul in writing to the Galatians says, "I am crucified with Christ." Jesus tells His disciple to abide (remain) in Him (John 15). If we are to remain in Him, this surely means not only living in His resurrection, but also in His suffering and death. It is we who deserve the pain, scorn,and death because of our sin (Jesus took that on our behalf), but we should also (in spirit) place ourselves on the cross with Him. The light of His saving grace and our redemption shines forth from the Eucharist.

Proclamation: In 1 Corinthians 11:26, St. Paul reminds us that in eating and drinking the Eucharist, WE proclaim the Lord's death. The Eucharist is not merely for our benefit, it is so that we, inspired by the realities of the Celebration, will be unable to keep silent about the greatness of our Lord and His Salvation. Psalm 107:2 exhorts, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary." Can we truly be redeemed and remain silent? The light of glorious Gospel shines forth from the Eucharist.

Anticipation: Again, St. Paul in 1 Cor. 11: we proclaim "till He comes again." Our Eucharist celebration should be filled with the excitement, not only of the Lord's presence in the Bread and Wine, but also with the anticipation of meeting Him face to face, of hearing His words of welcome, of being enveloped in His wondrous love. He has promised to return His own. We should look into our hearts and see how eager we truly are for His coming.

The light of magnificence and glory of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - shines forth from the Eucharist.

I pray that the Eucharist will be for us all a time of blessedness in the real presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Dr. Ernie